In my previous post, we celebrated hard work.

This time, we’re celebrating being a good sport.

One friendly contest in my daughter’s school was particularly monumental for us as it was a huge milestone in her emotional development.

They call it Brain Quest and she was one of the 3 students chosen to represent their class. They were to compete with other first graders from other school branches and Mia was nothing but excited!

The first time she joined this was in Nursery.

She was only 3 years old back then and although she was very excited too, her attention span was still very very short. She was attentive during the opening prayer, opening remarks, and giving of certificates but by the time it was already the contest proper, her mind was already wandering some place else. Haha.

This time around, she’s already 6 and she’s a bit more focused.

There was an Easy, Average, and Difficult round but let’s jump right to the Clincher Round.

At this point, there was already a clear winner for 1st and 2nd place but 3 of them were tied in 3rd place – Mia, her best friend, and another kid from a different branch.

So they had to compete.

When the other kid was eliminated after the first clincher question, it was Mia and her best friend left.

What are the odds.

How do you fight a friend?

The good thing though is they belong to the same class. So whoever wins, still wins it for their entire branch.

Boy, they had a very long clincher round.

The teachers were running out of questions because the 2 of them would either both get it right or both get it wrong.

The second graders had already arrived, eager to occupy their seats, but Mia and her bestie were still not done.

It took about 10 questions (or maybe 12, I didn’t really count) before her best friend finally won. (Congrats sweetheart! ♥ )

Everyone cheered when the announcement was made and I was a bit worried my daughter wouldn’t take it nicely.

To my surprise though – and this was truly unexpected considering she could get very competitive even on simple games like Bato Bato Pik (rock paper scissors) –

She got up from her seat, walked to her friend, extended her hand, congratulated her, and gave her the happiest hug a friend could give.

There was an “Awwww” from the audience as they watched this take place and I was holding back my tears because I didn’t expect her to do that.

I really thought she’d cry or sulk for a long time but she looked genuinely happy.

I told myself, “Wow. She knows how to graciously handle defeat. Pwede na ko mamatay! Haha. I could leave her in this world and she would do just fine.”

She ran to me afterwards and hugged me tight and I told her how super duper PROUD I was.

Oh my goodness, I was really really proud.

When the whole event was done, we went to the nearest store to buy them ice cream and this is how their conversation went.

BFF: I think you’ll win next year.

MIA: Maybe. But it’s okay. I won too! Remember teacher said if one of us wins, the entire branch wins. Thank you for winning it for us!

I was in awe……. They sounded like matured adults!

These two can teach us life lessons.

They deserve all the ice cream in the world! Haha.

And then when it was just the two of us on our ride home, she asked

MIA: So what do you think, Mommy?

JING: I think it was a really good fight. 😀

MIA: A friendly fight! They had a hard time breaking the tie. Me and bff were sooo good!

JING: Yeah, you even dealt with harder questions than the main contest questions. Did you find it difficult?

MIA: A little. But it was fun!

I was so happy to hear she had fun. She was indeed the happiest contestant on the floor.

Later that afternoon I sent her to the playground so I can have a little alone time to prepare a surprise.

I quickly typed this message and arranged the bunch of books I bought from a recent book fair on our top shelf.

She squealed at the sight of the new fantasy books hidden behind that print out!

I was planning to give it one at a time but I was overwhelmed at her display of sportsmanship, it seemed perfect to give everything in one go.

MIA: Mommy, I’m going to cry…

JING: Huh? Why?

MIA: I’ve been wanting to have these books. I didn’t think you’d buy this plenty.

JING: Well… That’s why it’s called a surprise! You also surprised me, you know. I didn’t think you’d do what you did today.

She smiled and read the print out about 3 more times before she chose the first book to read.

She knows how important good behavior is to our family and since we have been working on it, we celebrate our little progress each day. With the hope they will all add up in the future. 😀

 

It’s your turn. What do you celebrate at home? Tell us in the comments below. 😀